Home to a range of city festivities and occasional funfairs, the Vrijthof is an expansive square on which a row of terrace cafes face off against two magnificent churches. Punctuated by interesting shops and any number of places for a drink, the narrow streets to its east and southeast form Maastricht's most appealing zone for random exploration.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.07 MILES
It’s impossible to overestimate the significance of Aachen’s magnificent cathedral. The burial place of Charlemagne, it’s where more than 30 German kings…
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0.09 MILES
Built above and around the shrine of St Servaas (Servatius), the first bishop of Maastricht, the basilica presents an architectural pastiche whose…
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11.34 MILES
For one of the best industrial-experience tours you'll find anywhere, don a hard hat, jump in the cage lift and descend through a pitch-black moment into…
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19.19 MILES
Playing a 21st-century Willy Wonka, one of Belgium’s foremost chocolatiers has turned his modern factory into a superb interactive museum experience. Walk…
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14.69 MILES
Splendid Grand Curtius unites four disparate museum collections in the former mansion-warehouse of a 16th-century Liège arms dealer. The building's red…
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18.01 MILES
Aachen's cathedral treasury is a veritable mother lode of gold, silver and jewels. Of particular importance are the silver-and-gold bust of Charlemagne…
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14.5 MILES
One of Europe’s largest open-air museums, Bokrijk Openluchtmuseum offers a nostalgic look at Flanders’ past, with over 100 old buildings originally…
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29.03 MILES
Centred on a 14th-century church and sporting a few artists’ studio-galleries, this picturesque village-within-a-village is a five-street grid of lovely…
Nearby Maastricht attractions
0.06 MILES
Exhibitions in this small museum change every few months but even if the current subject doesn't interest you it's worth popping your head inside.
0.07 MILES
This attractive 17th-century Gothic church has a soaring if relatively unadorned interior and a 43m limestone tower whose deep red hue was originally…
0.09 MILES
Built above and around the shrine of St Servaas (Servatius), the first bishop of Maastricht, the basilica presents an architectural pastiche whose…
0.19 MILES
The Markt, Maastricht's commercial heart, still hosts markets several times a week in the shadow of the 1664 city hall, a distinctively spired, cubic…
0.24 MILES
Dominating an intimate cafe-filled square, this millennium-old basilica-church is a fabulous example of Mosan architecture, made 'extra authentic' through…
0.37 MILES
This rough-cut-stone tower-gateway dating from 1229 dominates the most impressive of several fragmentary sections of medieval city wall. You can look…
0.39 MILES
Of countless battles and sieges that have afflicted Maastricht, the best known was in 1673 when Louis XIV's French army took the city guided by master…
0.61 MILES
Primarily a state-of-the-art library, this modern airy cube also has changing exhibitions in the spacious foyer area.